Gophers high jumpers taking flight

MINNEAPOLIS - There's a friendly competition going on between the Gophers men's high jumpers.

"Once someone jumps a good mark, we want to follow-up and beat our friends," said Gophers senior Luca Weiland.

Nick Bachinski added, "It's the best situation possible. We have three pretty competitive guys and the nice thing is that we're friends outside of track. It's nice to come and compete against your friends everyday."

Bachinski and Weiland along with their U of M teammate Ryan Lockard have set the bar high this season.

The trio are among the top 10 in the Big Ten heading into this weekend's conference meet at Penn State.

"It's been a lot of fun of coaching them. They battle back and forth in practice which translates into the competitions for them," said Gophers assistant coach Kevin Netzer.